ELEVEN.

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"I still cannot believe you have your own place now, pooh! I'm so happy for you," Kash grinned as she walked around Aryn's new place. She was living with her aunt and cousin all through college and while she worked and saved.

So, after four years, she was able to get a nice studio apartment not too far from Kash's house and also relatively close to her job—which she was extremely thankful for. She'd had it for about three weeks now, but this was Kash's first time seeing it as it was fully furnished now.

"Thank you, friend," Aryn grinned. "My lil studio is enough for me, I love it," she sighed contentedly.

"As you should! Now, we need to get down to business—why is Davon texting me and asking me about you?" she raised her eyebrows and Aryn groaned. "I thought y'all were friends!"

"We are! But—man this is so ugly. I like him way too much, Kash. Every time he comes over I just want him to stay, I wanna kiss his stupid ass and have him sleep over," she sighed.

"I am not seeing the problem here," Kash chuckled as they got comfortable on her sofa. "If you don't stop lying to yourself, Aryn. You wanna be in a relationship!"

"Uh...maybe? I don't know, Sadé! I'm literally just here, minding my business and here comes these damn feelings, I didn't ask for this, I don't like it. We can talk about that later—tell me what happened at your job," she quickly changed the subject and Kash squinted her eyes at her friend for a moment before starting.

"Well first off, my daddy got me a restraining order, so even if I did wanna go back to that trifling ass place, as long as he's there, I can't," she began.

"Bit—they didn't fire his ass?!" she asked incredulously.

Kash shook her head with a loud sigh. The following day after the incident, she took the day off to get her head straight and think about what she'd even say when she got to the office, how she'd approach the situation and what her options were based on what her supervisors said.

"They only gave him unpaid suspension, but they had the same logic as the cops. Since they don't know if he had motive to harm me or whatever other bullshit they can't take any permanent action because they're scared they'll get sued," she ranted.

For days after she was told that, Kash was extremely angry. She felt as if he was being protected although she was the victim in the situation and was the one who felt threatened. She felt as if they forced her hand to quit—and she did just that. Today marked her fourth day after leaving.

"Well what the fuck else would he be doing following a 21 year old around at 8:30 at night with no lights?! These sick ass fuckers always trying to save men, I'm sick of the shit, they not gon learn till we start putting bullets in they ass!" she rolled her eyes. Aryn was very defensive about the situation, as Kash was her best friend and a very nice person.

Even if she wasn't nice, the way the situation was handled was extremely wrong, and she was upset her friend was going through it.

"I know. Everybody seems to understand but them. My daddy wants to take them to court so bad," she chuckled. "He stay ready to sue," she shook her head. "But I'm gonna be okay. I'm just glad to be away from that psycho," she huffed.

"Me too," Aryn nodded. "Now! Let's talk about something pleasant," she smirked and Kash raised her eyebrows.

"Pleasant like what?" she wondered.

"Kasiah," she wriggled her eyebrows and Kash let out a very loud and dramatic groan. "What?! You were the one who told me you couldn't stop thinking about him, Sadé!" she defended.

"I was drunk!" she retorted. "And sleepy,"

"That don't change the fact that it's true, babe," she chuckled. "You like him?"

"L-like—like Kasiah?! No! I don't—I can't like Kasiah," she stammered. "I can't like him," she repeated.

"And who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" Aryn raised her eyebrows. "Sounds like somebody is in denial. What's so bad about liking Siah?" she asked.

"W-well nothing, he's a good guy. He's really sweet when he wants to be and he's handsome as—sorry. But don't you think it's too soon—"

"Excuse me, is your shitty ass ex not engaged? Too soon my ass," she scoffed.

"No—well yes, but that's not what I meant. If I did like him, and I decided to pursue him, I wouldn't want him to feel like...like he's a rebound or something, you know? I wouldn't want him to feel that way, it must hurt," she explained.

Aryn stared at Kash with her eyebrows raised. She knew her best friend like the back of her hand and she knew what it looked like when she liked somebody. She got all nervous and unsure of herself, which was literally happening in front of her eyes.

"Sadé, you were the one who was just telling me that trying something new won't hurt," she reminded her.

"Bi—did you listen?! No!" Kash laughed.

"But this isn't about me," she chuckled. "If there's nothing wrong with it, admit it," she smirked. "Say you like him,"

"Aryn, is this really necessary? I—"

"Aht! Say it, say 'I like Kasiah,'"

"Ary—," as she began to speak, there was a knock at the door, making both girls furrow their eyebrows. "Uh...who's that? You made a dick appointment and you knew I was coming!" she fussed.

"I didn't! I actually canceled one," she chuckled, hopping up to check who was there. "D-davon," she stammered when she swung the door open, and Kash's jaw dropped.

"We need to talk, and you need to stop avoiding me, Sincere," he said immediately.

"Oh bitch, the middle name," she gasped to herself. "She done made Vonny mad, chile," she said.

"Davon, now isn't a good time, Kash is here and I-I well, I just—" she tried to use Kash as an out and before she could say she would go since her mom was expecting her for a dinner date later on, he spoke again.

"Tell Kash you gon see her later. We not finna be playing these games no more Aryn and I'm not playin' wit' yo ass," he said sternly and Kash could practically see Aryn melting where she stood. If there was one thing the girls had in common when it came to men, it was that.

It's not that they wanted someone super mean, especially not Kash, because she was sensitive. In the words of Aryn herself, she needed a man who could 'make me sit my ass down'. Kash laughed hard when she described it that way—but eventually agreed. There was a certain degree of control that a man Aryn or Kash decided to go after needed to maintain.

And from the looks of it, Davon had that in the bag. Not to mention the fact that he was handsome and Aryn described his voice as sex on two legs.

"Ima see you later, pooh. Call me okay? Hey, Von," Kash waved, slipping past the two at the door and heading to her car to meet her mother a little bit earlier than expected.

"I like Kasiah," Kash whined, sipping her margarita.

"What?!" Bianca gasped. "Since when? Why are you just now telling me, Kash!"

"Mama, I literally just accepted it two hours ago," she giggled. "I don't know where this came from! Well—maybe it was when we were in Toccoa...or maybe when he called me from Texas and I talked him to sleep or the other night when—aw hell ma!" she groaned.

"Well what's wrong with that, baby? Siah is a sweetheart! And he's a handsome lil thing if I do say so myself," she smirked and Kash laughed a little bit. "I hope you not thinking it's too early for you to be moving on," she raised her eyebrows.

"Wha—how did you know that?"

"Because you're my child," she chuckled. "Baby, listen. No matter what situation you in, in a relationship, fresh off a break up, hell you could be married and love gon come regardless, whether you want it or not, whether you ready or not, yo' heart don't wait for your brain, it's gon do what it wants regardless. If yo' heart want Siah, that's gon be it, whether yo' brain stuck on that nigga or not," she said.

Kash sighed in realization that her mother was right. As badly as she wanted to say she wasn't ready to move on, nor was she ready to be in a relationship, when she thought of him, she felt otherwise.

"I'm not stuck on him, mama. It's been seven months and I can say I don't think about Jerrell at all, that's not what I'm worried about," she explained. "I just...I don't wanna mess this up too, you know? I don't know what I did last time but it just..it just fell apart and I don't want that to happen again. And what if I can't believe anything he says to me? What if last time messed me up?" she confessed, breaking her mother's heart. "And what if he doesn't even want me back?"

"Well baby," Bianca sighed. "First of all, you did not mess that relationship up. Thst was on him. But it's hard to say what won't happen or what will. But I'm one hundred percent certain you'll never know if you don't give yourself a chance. You're gonna 'what if' yourself into a hole that you can't get out of—and you may miss out on something you never knew you needed," she explained as best she could to Kash.

"And! If he doesn't want you he's stupid," she added, making Sadé laugh.

"You're right," she sighed. "But, I don't want him to feel like I'm rebounding, either," she told her, hoping to get an answer different than Aryn telling her to just go for it.

"Chile—if I know anything about Siah after knowing him these past years, it's that he is a very confident boy. I'm sure if he figured you liked him, that would be the very last of his worries. Plus, you said you're not rebounding, right? You're over him,"

"I am," she nodded, relief flushing through her. Every time she came to that realization, she felt so good. "I really am. And now I like Kasiah Parker. Wow," she chuckled dryly. "Can you believe this ma?! Siah!"

"Mhm, y'all lil play fighting gon be real interesting now," she teased and Kash bursted into laughter.

"Don't get me wrong, he's still annoying. Now he's just...cute while he annoys me," she shook her head while her mom laughed. "Oh God...how do I tell Khy?" she gasped.

"Baby, you're grown. He can't say anything," she pointed out. Although she knew that wouldn't make Kash any never mind because her brother's opinion was up there with her dad's as far as importance.

"Yeah, but what if he gets all uncomfortable? It is his best friend after all, I would be weirded out for a while if he told me he liked Aryn," she admitted.

"Well he gon have to get over it, because Khyren cannot provide you what Kasiah could. Plus, as his best friend, he should know if Siah can take care of you well. Just be honest, and you'll be fine," Bianca said.

"You're right, you're right. Thank you for listening, mama," she smiled gently as their spinach and artichoke dip arrived.

"Of course, baby. Now, my turn," she grinned and Kash nodded, ready to hear her mom's tea. Sometimes when they got together all they did was tell each other the new developments in their lives and discuss them. It was one of Kash's favorite pastimes. "I'm pregnant," she cheesed.

"What?!" Kash gasped, nearly choking on her food. "Pregnant?! Oh my God, mama," she pouted. "Are you serious? How far along?"

"I just made six weeks," she smiled, watching Kash get emotional, like she knew she would. "Don't cry, mommy," she laughed.

"But I'm so happy for you and Lamarr! A baby! Mama you're having a baby," she whined, pout still very present. "Congratulations, mama,"

"Aww thank you, precious. I'm glad you're happy,"

"Of course! Tell your husband I get to pick the middle name or me and him can fight," she added, making her mom laugh.

"Wassup bro?" Siah dapped Donny up as they say in a booth waiting on Khyren. They were out to eat today, at some sports bar, and clearly Khy was running late.

"How you doin? Where yo' ass been?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Work," he chuckled. Siah had been working extra hours to line his pockets a lil bit more, just for his birthday. He let his friends plan for him this year and he was just told to come looking good, which was achievable.

"Yo ass always workin'" Donny said. "You excited for yo' birthday? It's gon be lit as hell in there," he nodded knowingly.

"Hell yeah, I'm gon fuck some shit up wherever we at," he chuckled. "Oh, before this nigga get here, I gotta ask you sum'," he said. He honestly didn't want to do this, but his dad's advice of just going to grab Kash up was not helping him in the least.

"Wassup?" Donny asked, sipping his water.

"Now say you...got feelings for somebody. How you go about telling them that? I'an done this shit in I'on know how long," he sighed. Usually his first line of defense would be to ask Khyren, but until he told Khy about how he felt about Sadé, he wouldn't bring it up to him.

"Depends on the girl. You gotta approach everybody differently, same thing don't work on every single girl," he began.

"You would know, Mr. Bitches," he chuckled and Adonis laughed loudly.

"Fuck you," he chuckled, catching his breath. "So who we talkin'? Kash?" he smirked and Siah's jaw dropped slightly ajar, before he caught himself. "Oh you thought I ain't know?"

"How the fuck...how do you know?" he mumbled, ans the smirk never left Donny's face. "Nigga stop lookin' at me like that,"

"You one of my best friends, dawg. I see the way you been looking at her recently and I know when you like somebody. Plus, I seen you leaving to go upstairs the other night—and you ain't go see Khy. So, you like her, don't you?"

"You—nigga why didn't you say anything!" he exclaimed, slightly embarrassed, because he thought he was being at least a little bit stealthy.

"Because I wanted you to say something first!" he laughed. "So, like I said, you like her, don't you?"

For a second, he was going to deny it, but there was no use. He wanted Sadé, and he didn't have to lie about it.

"Yeah, I like Sadé," he nodded and Adonis smirk grew into a wide mouthed grin. "Aight don't do too much," he chuckled.

"Aight, Ima chill on you," Donny laughed. "I'on know, Kash one of them romantic ass girls, you might gotta go all out. But before allat, did you tell KB?"

"Tell me what?" they heard Khy's voice and Siah's stomach dropped. He didn't see him come in, and was caught off guard.

"Nigga you can't just walk up on people like that," Adonis fussed, and Khy waved him off, going to sit next to him. "We was just talking about his birthday, right?"

"Yeah," Siah quickly went along with whatever Donny was trying to spin. "I was just gonna tell you thank you," he tried not to make it sound like a question as he glanced at Donny who gave a subtle nod. "Thank you for planning a party for me, you know? My birthday is real special for me,"

"Aw, no problem bro. Y'all did it up for me last year I had to return the favor," Khy smiled and Siah breathed a small sigh of relief.

Hopefully, when the time came, it'd be easier for him to talk to Khy.

"Kasiah!" he heard a very familiar voice call, and turned around to be greeted by Sadé. He was at the mall shopping for his birthday dinner which was the night before the party, organized by his dad who did not want to be in the club with twenty something's on his son's birthday.

"Why you yelling my name in public?" he chuckled.

"Because I wanted to say hi," she cheesed. "Hi,"

"Hi, Sadé," he shook his head. "How are you?"

"I'm good! Shopping for somebody's birthday dinner and their party," she nudged his side and he swatted her arm, as he was slightly ticklish. "I'm excited! Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I'm excited," he chuckled, her giddiness greatly improving his mood. "You'on gotta buy nothing new, you know that right?" he raised his eyebrow and she did the same. "What I say?"

"Do you know who I am, sir? Of course I have to buy something new," she said dramatically. "Who would I be if I didn't pop out for you? Not Sadé Bryant, that's who," she pointed.

"If you say so," he laughed. "But um...you hungry? I was just finna go to the food court, if you wanted to come. If you not too busy shopping that is," he offered, and felt his heartbeat quicken as she smiled a little bit before nodding.

They walked to the food court together, Sadé talking about whatever came to her mind and Siah just listened to her. Her being the exact opposite of him in almost every way meant thst she was the talkative to his silence. It was okay though, he liked hearing her voice.

"Whatchu gonna eat, Siah?" she wondered. "I'll get what you get,"

"Um, prolly the lil Chinese food they got in here. That's fine?" he asked and she nodded, so they went off to order together, and Siah paid for her food yet again. Then they found a table to sit at and began eating together, Kash telling Siah another story.

"So I was at Bug's house and we—,"

"Who the hell is Bug?" he interrupted and she sighed. "What?!"

"It's Aryn! I call her Lovebug all the time Siah, pay attention," she chuckled. "Now, I was at her apartment, and we're just talking, you know girl stuff," she continued and he nodded along. "So we're having a very serious conversation and the bell rings, I thought she double booked me and I was gonna be mad, but guess who was at the door!"

"Uh—I'on know," he said honestly, not at all knowing where she was going with this.

"It was Davon! This guy she really likes but she's avoiding him because she doesn't

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